With Breece Hall out of the picture, Zach Wilson will need to step up in order to lead this offense
With superstar rookie runner Breece Hall done for the season, all the pressure falls on the shoulders of Zach Wilson.
Hall was the No. 10 ranked running back in the NFL before going down last Sunday. He produced 463 yards on 80 carries for an average of 5.8 yards-per-carry.
Hall’s season prior to the unfortunate injury was summarized best by Ian Hartitz of Pro Football Focus. “Breece Hall at this point is the heart and soul of this Jets offense and he looks damn good doing it.”
Notice, nobody is saying anything remotely like that about the Jets quarterback, who was sold by the organization to the fanbase as being “the guy.”
Wilson has flashed dazzling unscripted moments, which was what I saw out of him at BYU.
However, the rest of the time he has looked below average to average.
Wilson is exactly what I saw on game film at BYU during the 2020 season prior to the Jets selecting him second overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Wilson struggled with his downfield ball placement the exact same way at BYU as he has with the Jets.
It’s nothing new.
This is why as a former Jets’ pro scout I am going to say this on the record. Wilson is not going to develop into anything more than he is now. He is what he is, and at some point in the not-so-distant-future the organization is going to have a decision to make.
Wilson’s weaknesses have been well camouflaged by Jets’ General Manager Joe Douglas this season, through the draft and free agency.
Three out of four of the Jets’ receivers who have the most receptions this season are all new additions.
Douglas selected wide receiver Garrett Wilson in the first-round (28 catches), and Hall in the second-round (19 catches). Hall not only excelled as a runner, but also catching passes out of the backfield.
Hall caught 218 yards (11.5 yard average) worth of passes on the season, and who could forget that 79-yard touchdown against Miami that traveled 20 yards through the air and Hall did the rest.
Both G. Wilson and Hall have excelled all season long picking up yardage after the catch, which is what I wrote this past off-season Wilson needed most.
That’s because Wilson is best and most consistent throwing only short range passes.
Everything else is a roll of the dice.
Tight end Tyler Conklin (26 receptions) who is also tough to bring down after the catch, was additionally brought in through free agency by Douglas to give Wilson a nice big short-to-intermediate target to throw to.
Hall undoubtedly took pressure off Wilson this season, who has put up pedestrian numbers (to say it nicely).
Wilson has further developed a consistent tendency all throughout his tenure with the Jets to hold the ball too long in the pocket. All this running around and scrambling drama we see from Wilson is mostly a result of him being hesitant to pull the trigger.
This has never been more apparent than it was in New England last season.
Wilson went out with an injury and back-up QB Mike White came in the game and the offense was magically more crisp and efficient.
Why?
White was more decisive and he made quicker decisions throwing from the pocket.
Granted, Wilson missed the month of September this season mending from his second right knee injury in the past calendar year, his stats still leave a lot to be desired over the past four games:
58/101 for 693 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT.
That’s a completion percentage of 57.4% compared to 55.6% last season.
It’s time for Wilson to make a difference or get off the pot.
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